“You could come to our house,” Ella offers. “We have a massive spare room.”
Fucking bless this woman. Bless her for truly believing in what the club means. In generosity, in kindness, in holding each other up when we most need it. Not just each other, but our families and friends too. Ella doesn’t know Esme or Beth from a hole in the ground. Well, she might know that Esme got caught in my brother’s gambling debts and that the club just paid out a massive amount to keep James alive. That’s not a great start, but here she is, offering her car, her house, and her friendship. It speaks volumes as to how strong the sisterhood is between our women.
“That would be wonderful.” Esme gets her arm under Beth, holding her tighter. I move to support her, but Esme shakes her head. She’s got this. She’s got her mom.
My heart swells so big that my chest is far too small to contain it. To say that I’m so proud of this woman is a massive understatement. Some people might see me as the one who should be hurt, a victim of Esme not noticing or caring, but that’s not how this went down. She always cared. So fucking much. But there was a limit to how much she could give and still be able to survive. She was locked into barely staying afloat herself, but within just a few weeks, she totally changed her life. She sold her house, quit her job, ended her unhappy relationship. The past few days have been incredibly difficult and charged soemotionally that I’m not sure how either of us are still on our feet, but she is.
She is, and she’s going to get her mom back on hers.
Esme’s always been all heart. Grandpa knew it. I knew it. I hope that one day, she’ll be able to see it for herself.
“Will you come later?” Esme asks. “I know you have to get your bike and check in at the club. If there’s no one to cover for you, that’s okay. I’ll call you?”
Facing down her parents, even going to their house, is a lot. A. Fucking. Lot. She’s done something unthinkably brave, but here she is, worrying about me. This is love. This is care. This is what she gave me for years and years. I might have had to wait a long time for her heart to change its mind, or realize that its home was with me, but there’s no question that Esme has always loved me and supported me with the purest friendship.
When she brings up our memories, they sound one sided. She only remembers the times I gave her advice, or sat with her, or was there for her. She’s been there for me just as often.
Esme helps Beth into the backseat, then climbs in behind her. I watch, through the open door, as she glides the seatbelt over her shellshocked mother. I want to kiss Esme, but I don’t want to do anything that will unsettle Beth any further. Instead, I grasp her knee and squeeze. Her hand covers mine immediately. She holds tight to me like she never wants to let go.
Ella circles around, trailing after me from a distance to make sure that I get back to my bike. It’s sitting untouched in the driveway, exactly as I left it. I still feel, when I mount itand kick it into that familiar, thundering roar, that I’m going to catch something between my shoulder blades or in the back of my head, but there’s nothing. Not even so much as a flash of movement from the windows.
I roar down the road, splitting off from Ella’s car as she turns to cross the city and head to her and Raiden’s house. Hart’s not big, so I know that Esme will be there in fifteen minutes or less. Should I text her? Make sure she got there alright? Should I let her check in with me?
I don’t want to bombard her. She’s going to need this time with her mom. Intruding on that would only overwhelm them both.
***
As soon as I get back to the clubhouse, I fire off a text, letting her know that I’m here for her and anything she needs, she only has to ask.
My phone dings a few minutes later, as I’m walking into the back room of the clubhouse to sit my ass down in front of a bunch of screens. Her text only saysthanks, but I can imagine her typing it out, letting out a sigh, closing her eyes, and melting a little after getting it because she knows that I’m thinking about her and that I truly would move the world for her if I could.
Maverick’s in my chair. He leans back, hands behind his head when he sees me. “Whoa. You look like you need a holiday from your holiday. Was it that bad? Bloodthirsty mosquitoes? Run in with bears? Feral deer? Blood sucking ticks?”
“It’s the wrong time of year for ticks.”
“It’s never the wrong time of year for ticks and mosquitoes.”
“Feral deer.” I shake my head. “What would that even look like?”
Maverick stands up, bends his arm, turns his hands into claws, and contorts his face. He does his best zombie impression, complete with the guttural voice.
Despite the heaviness of the past few days, and especially the last hour, I laugh. It’s nice to let the sound roll through me and let some of the tension out of my body. Maverick straightens and grins, but it quickly loses steam, catching in his worries. “Seriously though. You don’t look good. You seem exhausted.”
“Thanks, sweetheart. You’re beautiful too.”
“Wizard.” He rakes a hand through his hair, clearly embarrassed.
This is normally where I’d pass shit off as being fine, the wholedon’t worry about me, I’ve got this,and usually, I would have it. It wouldn’t be a lie. I’d never put the club’s safety or security at risk by covering my own ass, or falling asleep on the job.
“It was intense,” I admit. “We dealt with a lot of personal stuff. It was hard, mostly in a good way, but there wasn’t much sleep involved. We came back and went straight to Esme’s parents’ house. She wanted to talk to them and once she decided she was gonna do it, she didn’t want to wait. That’s why we’re back early. I won’t say it got ugly, but it did get real.”
“Shit,” Maverick mutters.
“Her dad isn’t in a good place, and we didn’t want her mom there. He’s… uh, he drinks, and he’s angry. It’s not a good combination. Esme swears he’s not a wife beater and that he never raised a hand to her, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I think they were two people who got themselves into an unforeseen situation and wanted to try and make the best of it they could. They got into it young, and they’ve been trapped in it ever since.”
“When the bad becomes familiar and feels less scary than change.”
I nod. That’s exactly it. Probably. “In a few days, when her dad cools down, I might offer Lockhart’s services.”
